Dec 18, 2011, DECEMBER - ALMOST CHRISTMAS

I had more than twenty people in my tiny apartment for Christmas cheer this past Friday. Four people in here is a crowd, but everyone squashed in, we had great food, great company and a great time. It was all so much fun - it was something I really wanted to do. It took a lot out of me but was gratifying to be able to have so many dear guests in my home.

I'm looking at a different Christmas. I'm going to spend ten days with family: my cousins in Canada. Their mother was my father's sister and when I was living with my draconian aunt in Toronto when I was fifteen, I would escape to Coburg, about 100 miles west of Toronto to be with this big and messy family. In those days they were very poor and lived in a sloping house and every kid in the neighborhood crowded in. I loved being with them and they provided a great refuge for me.

Cousin Teddy died about ten years ago but the remaining five are well. all have children and grandchildren and all live within twenty miles of each other. So it's a big clan. Should be a lot of fun.

Well, I've taken a major step: I've had my teeth fixed - nothing was really wrong with them except they were getting very yellow and old fillings were beginning to show at the gums. It was very noticeable in photographs. It makes a huge difference - when you look at me you wouldn't immediately say that I'd had my teeth fixed but people keep telling me I look good - and that's why. The fact that it's cost me the price of a car I'm not focusing on, as far as I'm concerned it's well worth it.

I'm not feeling so well. I hope it's just because I've got a bad cold and cough but I keep having this feeling that I'm one of those wind-up toys that's just winding down and I'm sputtering along. The mind tells me to do such-and-such and then I go to do it and I find it takes so much effort to just walk along.

But we all live one-day-at-a-time and I'm here today! Hooray! Lots of love and Christmas blessings.